DERAWAN ARCHIPELAGO

The Derawan islands must be everyone’s dream of the perfect tropical paradise: warm, isolated islands with soft white sand beaches fringed with waving palm trees, pristine seas that change color from green to deep blue, and an amazing underwater life of giant turtles, dolphins, manta rays, dugongs and barracudas, stingless jellyfish and sometimes, whales Derawan is indeed one of world’s richest areas in bio-diversity. Small wonder that the Derawan Islands are considered the third best dive destination in the world.

Located just away from the mainland of East Kalimantan in the district of Berau, the Derawan archipelago comprises 31 islands, most well known among these are the islands of Derawan, Maratua, Sangalaki and Kakaban. Here is Indonesia’s largest nesting site of the rare and endangered giant green turtles and hawksbill turtles, where one can daily watch turtles lay their eggs in the sand or swim to sea with the turtles. The entire marine conservancy region covers a total area of no less than 1.27 million hectares.

Here, you can find 460 different species of corals, ranking this area second only to the Raja Ampat Islands in West Papua. The Nature Conservancy and a team of international experts also found more than 870 species of fish here, ranging from tiny pygmy seahorses to giant manta rays. On some days, groups of up to 50 manta rays have been seen feeding together in Derawan’s waters, says the Conservancy.

While on Kakaban, you can find the world's largest and most diverse jellyfish lake, including four unique species of stingless jellyfish one of which can swim upside down. It is for this reason that Kakaban is considered for UNESCO nomination as a World Heritage Site.

Source: indonesia.travel

Nearest Destination

For those of you who like to dive, the beauty and diversity of flora and fauna around the island of Sangalaki must not be missed due to its beauty which will attract you to come again and again. The island is located in the Derawan Archipelago, Berau, East Kalimantan. This island is excellent for diving and snorkeling, even equally compared to Raja Ampat in the Papua province.
Enjoy the greeting wind, clean sea water, soft sand, warm sun, beautiful waves, palm trees, and a beautiful afternoon that will complement your excitement and diving excursions.
Underwater scenery on Sangalaki Island will intoxicate hearts and hypnotize everyone who saw it. Various animals such as manta rays, barracuda, stingrays, giant squid, starfish are some of the inhabitants of of the Sangalaki Island underwater ...